Disrupted Wind
by AnonymousYoshi
Summary: The 19th District of West Rukongai is in turmoil. The South Side and the North Side are in a mock war, and things are not going well for the South. How will it end? All credit goes to the creators of Bleach, not me. Rated T just in case.
1. Prologue

_Author__'__s__Note:_ Leave a comment if you're interested in this story, or leave a comment if you don't like it. Otherwise, I hope you like it! This is just the prologue, so, more to come if you like it!

The world I knew was small. I didn't know much about where I lived, or why I was there, but I knew where I was: the 19th District of West Rukongai, Kasaihu. I had once heard people from the people over on the North Side of town say something about other Districts, but as far as I was aware of or even cared, my small district was the world.

My world was divided into two main parts: the North Side and the South Side. I lived on the South Side, along with my friends from school. Life on the South Side was all I knew, whatever h- the Shinigami people said it was like living there. What did they know? All they did was come once in a blue moon to make sure no one was dead – rather, that not too many people were dead.

I was told that a lot of people died in our district, in more particular, a lot of people died in our side, but, what did I care? To me, my little district, only a fraction of the size of what I came to know as the other districts were. We always had several fights with other villages of sorts on our side, but that was never the main cause of death.

Most of us died fighting the people on the North Side. The two sides of the district are separated by a vast river, spanned by a grand bridge. It's painted gold, with statues of doves on either side to symbolize the supposed peace between the two sides. I heard someone had shot one of the doves off its pedestal. After all, to us there was no meaning to peace.

The goal of everyone on the South Side was to reach the North Side. Life there was supposed to be heaven on earth, a never ending fountain of happiness. And so we fought to get there. We used to have long, bloody battles on top of the bridge trying to advance and capture the North Side. But they always had sharper swords, better archers, and more disciplined soldiers. We were always slaughtered like pigs, and thrown back to the South Side, like wasted carcasses.

Eventually, things got so bad that they stationed some Shinigami on the bridge to quell the fighting. While the North Side army could probably easily demolish the few Shinigami standing guard, we had no chance. They were far better trained than the North Side army, and during our fights we rarely killed over a dozen of them.

We didn't want to die just to kill a few worthless Shinigami, so we plotted another way over the large river. There was a small island, barely enough to fit a small village of a few dozen people, approximately in the middle of the river but much closer to the North Side. We built a small operation center there, and every few nights when we planned an assault on the North Side we would all go on boats to the island. From the island there was a small stretch of land that connected the island to the mainland on the North Side that was shallow enough to wade through, only wide enough to go two-by-two. Many died trying to get to the North Side, being swallowed in by the large currents on either side of the strip that had deposited so much sand there in the first place.

Once we reached the shallow beach water we would hide with nothing but our heads bobbing above the water until all of us had assembled, then all come rushing out of the water and attack. Most of the time we had to slowly shift our forces over on the beach so they couldn't figure out where we were coming from. It often took hours just to get ready to strike.

When we came rushing, we came rushing like a pack of wild buffalo. If there was one thing we learned from our fights, it was that numbers mattered in a fight. No matter how skilled you were, there was a limit to the amount of people you could fight and win. We would use that to our advantage for the first few minutes, until their army found us and overwhelmed us. You were lucky to escape at all, if alive. No one ever made it back to the strip of sand that same night, so we would hide away until the next night where we would slink back to the South Side.

I was remarkably good at hiding. It's why I'm still alive after several of these raids, Mitsuwa says. He's my best friend, a genius in his own way. His father, Mr. Chuichi as I called him, died when he was young so he says you have to get smart or get out. He works wonders with bombs, stealth attacks, swords, anything battle or war related. Even though he's only 15, he directs the raids on the North.

He's also the one who landed me the job as head of the South Side army, as we call it. I guess I am 16, which is the legal age in Kasaihu, but I'd much rather be having fun with a horse or a hawk somewhere. He says I have a natural prowess for fighting, and I suppose I do, but I don't like fighting. I prefer to stay on the tamer side, but he thinks it's a waste for all that skill to go to doing something stupid like riding horses.

Still, I lead the army anyways. It's always a good time, so I really see no reason not to. Actually, I used to see no reason not to. It all happened on a cold night in December, not far from the New Year's festivities. I was leading a raid to the North Side for a few good New Year's laughs, when everything went wrong.


	2. Chapter 1

_Author's Note: _Hello peoples that read my stories. I actually realized I have quite a few chapters of this story backed up and I never uploaded it, so here's one. "Song of the Whispering Flowers" will be on hold for a couple weeks, give or take, mostly because I just need a little break to work out some plot details that have been mixed up over the last couple chapters I wrote. So, sorry, I hope a couple chapters of this story will make you feel better? Maybe?

"Look. The North Side is enjoying a pleasant New Year's festival. Let's crash it." Mitsuwa whispered into my ear as our troops slowly inched along the North Side coastline. Little did we know this time would be the last time. We slowly made our way to the western part of their shoreline, a small cozy part of the North Side that we didn't attack often. It normally wasn't too populated, but during the New Year Festival I heard that it was the most densely populated place in the entire district.

Naturally, Mitsuwa had to plan the attack there. We each had our finely sharpened blade, with the ideal that as long as all of us killed off at least one person, since the South Side was more populated than the North Side we would eventually win. Still, even though we outnumbered them very few of us landing a surefire kill before dying.

At last, we had made it to the western shoreline, our planned route of attack. "Attack!" Mitsuwa roared, and as if we were one giant wave we flooded onto shore, charging towards the glowing lights of the festivals. We were about halfway to the first signs of life off the coast when I realized something was up. The buildings around us, which should have been packed with people just docking from the Western Port to celebrate the holidays, were completely deserted.

"Wait!" I called to the army, but it was too late. We had already made it to the first festival, which turned out to be nothing but lights and a trap. We were made for fools. The moment all of us entered the marquee that led to the tent, which had been remarkably long (long enough to trap the troops that had come with me), long drapes fell over the ends of the marquee, trapping us in complete darkness. I tried to escape, but I was too slow to realize what they were doing.

All of a sudden blades shot out of the drapes, striking down everyone and anyone near the edges. Unfortunately for us, they had thought out their trap well. The marquee was so narrow that you had to be within stabbing distance of one of the drapes, meaning everyone standing in the marquee was on the brink of death.

In all the chaos, I managed to get a hold of Mitsuwa, who was the only one fighting back. Even in the pitch-black dark of the marquee, he was trying to rig a bomb to blow up the whole place. I stopped him immediately, grabbed him, and ran. I was lucky, and barely escaped, having sustained a large wound to my left arm. Mitsuwa and I ducked down and crawled through one of the cracks between the North Side Army's soldier's legs, or who I thought to be at the time.

On closer inspection I recognized them as Shinigami, with their distinctive dress style. Not that I cared at that particular moment. Mitsuwa and I ran like the wind, fleeing like a few others had managed to do. We didn't care where we were going, as long as it was away from there. We ran like cowards for what felt like several miles until we finally reached a huge forest, far away from central North Side society. Mitsuwa muttered something, but I didn't hear it. All the running had completely depleted my energy, and in seconds both of us were passed out on the forest underbrush.


	3. Chapter 2

_Author's Note: _Good morning, or evening, or whatever it is when you read this. I don't think I mentioned that I really appreciate you reading this, I hope you enjoy. It probably doesn't really tie in much to the main Bleach characters as of now, so, really, thanks for reading!

When I awoke, Mitsuwa was gone. I probably would've gone searching for him if I didn't find his crudely fashioned note in the form of scratching on the dirt below. _"Be back soon. Getting food and supplies._" I wondered for a second where he was going to get food. We were at least a couple miles away from the North Side society, and he would probably be killed on entering. Then again, the both of us were well-versed in sneaking by and, in the worst case, killing the North Side soldiers and civilians.

I waited for a couple hours, scouting out the nearby forest and forming a makeshift hut out of leaves and branches between two trees which had formed at an awkward angle perfect for a shelter. It wasn't much, but I figured we would need somewhere to be. A few minutes after I finished the small hut, Mitsuwa came back, a small satchel bulging with whatever he had found the need to pick up.

"Sora!" He called out to me, picking up his pace when he saw me. He snickered when he finally arrived and managed to make out my living accommodations. "Nice hut."

"You couldn't have done much better." I replied harshly, indignant. He just chuckled and sat down on a crude stump that I had busted off a dead tree with my blade.

"Yeah, whatever you say. Anyways, while you were making whatever you want to call this little living quarters, I was in town buying food and other essential goods. I stole some tranquilizer fluid from the town weapon arsenal, and stabbed the guy in the charge of the general market with a good dose of it. He's probably up by now, but I already looted his store anyways and grabbed all the good stuff." He spilled his satchel, which I assume he stole as well. Out came various non-perishable foods, as well as a pack of cards. Several bottles of what I assumed to be tranquilizer fluids came out last, wrapped in black fabric.

"I killed some of them Shinigami too and took their uniforms." He explained quickly as I eyed the suspicious black cloth. "One for you and one for me. That way we'll get around town a little easier. You know, last resort sort of thing." He tossed me a uniform, and I threw it on quickly. It fit nicely, only a tad too long around the arms. It was like a Japanese kimono, expect black with several elaborate patterns sewn in. A family crest was distinguishable on the left side of the chest area of the uniform. We both stared at each other, feeling strange to see each other in Shinigami outfits.

"You think this'll really fool them?" I asked, unsure. Even with the outfits, we didn't look to much like Shinigami. Shinigami tended to have an upright look about them, whereas us? We looked like we just got off the streets.

"I think so." Mitsuwa responded boldly. "The two Shinigami that I killed were talking about the trap they set last night. The North Side contacted something called Soul Society and bribed them into trapping us and doing their dirty work for them. The Shinigami know some of us escaped, but they won't tell the North Side, or they'll probably lose their pay for the job. We're basically clear. On the other hand, our home isn't. The North Side is going to invade the South Side and crush us for good. The Shinigami who are supposed to keep peace don't give a d-, their all getting paid off anyways."

It was silent for awhile after that. We both retired to the makeshift beds I had created to rest some more, though their comfort barely exceeded that of the ground floor. At last, Mitsuwa broke the silence.

"We can't rest here forever. What should we do?" He finally asked the question that had haunted our small living space the entire silence. Somehow, saying it aloud had firmly placed it as reality. What would we do? We had no idea where we were or what we were doing, and there was no way we could return to the South Side. As far as I cared, we were as good as dead, wandering in a foreign land with no home to return to.

"I don't know." I answered briefly. I had no idea. My hand was on my blade hilt, but I didn't know why. It was as if I needed something for security, to give myself a sense of purpose. My entire life had been killing the North Side, guided by one task, which was to defeat the North Side. At this point, the North Side had won. My life's purpose was gone. I was just an empty shell.

"Let's go to bed, Sora. Maybe it'll come to us tomorrow." Mitsuwa smiled halfheartedly, and sank into his bed. I sighed. He knew as well as I did that the chances of it coming to us tomorrow were about as close to zero as it gets. Still, I had nothing better to do. I collapsed into my bed as well, falling into a deep sleep.


	4. Chapter 3

_Author's Note: _I don't know what to say. Yeah. Enjoy!

I dreamed of Natsumi. She was beautiful, and she was one of my best friends until last year. I dreamed of the night that she vanished, and that I couldn't get her back. It was a warm, sunny day in June. We were playing together near the Kaori River, named after the legendary guardian of our District, one who supposedly promoted peace and watched over the land. There was a large statue of Kaori where the river intersected with the center of the South Side. It was nice in the town square there. It was what I imagined the North Side to be like – no pain, no sadness. No tears to be found flowing down my cheeks.

We were sitting at a couple small picnic tables around the river, when Natsumi ran into the waves. She called, and I came after her. We played together for a while, until it happened. While we were in the middle of the river, a violent water spout emerged just several dozen yards from us. I grabbed Natsumi and tried to get to shore, but we were too slow. The water spout managed to suck up Natsumi, and off she went. The last thing I heard from her was my name. She was screaming for help.  
>I swam after her towards the water spout, but the waves the spout had generated were too powerful. They pushed me under, and the water slowly took over my senses, until everything went black.<p>

When I awoke I found myself lying on the shore, my clothes torn and ragged. I was disoriented, confused and scared. I quickly ran along the side of the river until I came to the town square. My house wasn't too far from the square anyways. My parents had died a while ago, so Mr. Chuichi normally let me stay with him. After he died, I had to find a place of my own. It took me a couple years of living on the streets, but I eventually made enough money to get my own place. I was 9 when I first moved in. I let Natsumi stay with me as well. Her parents were dead too. A lot of us kids in Kasaihu were orphans.

Mitsuwa technically still had his mom, but she disowned him when she divorced Mr. Chuichi. I heard she lived on the North Side now. No matter how bad of a person Mitsuwa said she was, I couldn't help but feel envious of her. She had made it to the North Side. She had succeeded in what we had failed to do so many times. I couldn't help but feel jealous.

When I made it to town square, I dashed up the stairs to my apartment. I found it deserted. I called for Natsumi, but there was no response. At last, it seemed to hit me hard. Natsumi was gone. I desperately searched Mitsuwa's apartment, just a couple floors from mine, but it was just as empty as mine. Mitsuwa had inherited it from his father after he died. He always wanted to move in with me, but he felt that it was his last gift to his father to keep his apartment in good shape. He kept his promise to his dad all these years, and the apartment still looks nearly exactly the same as it did back then. It was like a room free of the damaging effects of time.

It was a shame that Natsumi was still gone. I could feel tears running down the side of my cheek as I collapsed onto one of Mitsuwa's chairs. In the matter of a day, I had lost a whole part of my life. I had lost Natsumi. She was gone, gone far beyond my reach wherever the water spout had taken her. Perhaps she was already dead, long pushed under the waves and killed. I never thought about it. I liked to think that she was alright, still alive at the least, so that one day I could right my wrongs and save her.


	5. Chapter 4

_Author's Note: _Comment please, it really helps! Thanks and enjoy!

I woke up with a start next to my bed. "Sora, you alright?" Mitsuwa asked as I crawled up into a sitting position. My head was still swimming with thoughts.

"I'll be fine. Did you think of anywhere to go?" I added hastily, shifting the topic as fast as I could. Thankfully, Mitsuwa took my not-so-subtle hint and decided I didn't want to talk about it. He pulled out a scroll from a pouch he attached to his belt underneath his Shinigami robe.

"We're going to a place called Seireitei." He unrolled the scroll, revealing a large map of what I presumed to be Seireitei. "I woke up a couple hours ago, and went to spy on some more Shinigami while you slept. They were talking about some plan to destroy the entire South Side. Not just the people, either. They planned to reduce our entire civilization to ruins."

"What? The Shinigami can just attack us? No restrictions at all?" I interjected, indignant with anger. They couldn't just wipe us off the map. They just couldn't. That would be going too far.

"Wait, Sora. There's more. They're not just wiping the South Side. They mentioned destroying this entire District of Rukongai. They just exploited the North Side so they could get in with ease. They'll slip in and slip out. It's that simple. I heard they already sniped out a couple other Districts as well this way." Mitsuwa continued, causing me to do a double-take.

"This entire District?" I mumbled, my throat heavy. Was it really that simple to just massacre a whole District? Could they really just erase everything I ever knew and loved? Could they erase me?

"We're not safe here anymore. If the North Side is going down to, and we're stuck here, we're history. The North Side is still planning to crush the South Side, but that won't matter in a few days. Anything left in this District is going to become dust. That's why we're going to Seireitei. I heard the Shinigami saying something about some Captains being too arrogant to care about what happened in Rukongai. We have to go to Seireitei and tell them." Mitsuwa finally laid out his plan of action. It looked as if he had been contemplating his course of action for awhile.

"I guess we don't have a choice, huh? We were all played for as fools." I sighed. Soon, my entire world was going to be nothing but rubble. This never-ending war between the North and the South was soon going to come to a close. It was wasted time and energy. Moreover, it was wasted lives.

We didn't bring anything but the tranquilizer fluid and our blades. The bottles fit nicely in onto a makeshift belt Mitsuwa had created, with small pouches for carrying items of choice. The belt fit snugly across our waist, hidden beneath the Shinigami cloak. Our hilts were sewn onto the belt. We left everything else back near the hut, and started heading east.

Mitsuwa explained his map, which was actually of our District as well as the neighboring ones. After several days, we eventually made it to the border of our District, which was separated by the 18th District of West Rukongai by a large chasm at least fifty feet across. It appeared that several rope bridges had originally traversed the void, but all of them had been cut down.

Whilst Kasaihu had lush forests that surrounded its civilizations, at least in the North Side, the 18th District of West Rukongai looked surprisingly barren. It looked to be desert for miles on end. We probably would've died there if we hadn't found a small note hidden underneath one of the stakes that had formerly held up a bridge.

A small emblem had been drawn onto the paper, almost identical to the one sewn on our chests. Words spiraled around the circular emblem, seeming to be the words to something. The words had been written in what appeared to be a hurry, as most of it was scrawled together, but I managed to make the number fourteen out of the mess.

"Fourteen? What's that mean?" Mitsuwa asked at once, obviously confused. "How does that even relate to this bridge at all?" I was speechless. Fourteen meant nothing to me either, but it was our only clue to escaping our District. It wouldn't be long until our District looked exactly like the one we now faced. I had hoped that we were far enough from society to not be vanquished along with the rest of the District, but I had a nagging suspicion that that wasn't the case.

"What do we do? We don't have any means of getting across." I pointed out, barely even mumbling. The number that I had deciphered was perplexing me to no end. Thankfully Mitsuwa still had his wits about him.

"Wait." He put his hand out in front of me, his eyes gleaming. "Over there. The bridge was cut from the 18th District side." He pointed towards a bridge to the far right. "There's no rope hanging down from the stakes on the other side like the other ones. If they were trying to keep us here, they messed up big time. If the rope isn't on the other side, then it's on our side." He grabbed me by the arm and nearly sprinted to the bridge.

"Alright, now we just have to get this rope to the other side. A blade will probably do the trick." He whipped out his own blade and tied it to the rope, before throwing it to the other side. It implanted firmly into the wall, and Mitsuwa tugged at it several times. He then tied the rope to the stake in the ground on our side.

He jumped and grabbed the line, slowly inching his way across. I leapt soon after him, and when we were about half way across the rope we heard a loud snapping noise.

I heard my name being screamed as the rope gave way, and both of us tumbled forward into the rocks. There was a loud crashing noise of Mitsuwa hitting the wall, about a millisecond before I myself slammed into the wall and blacked out.


	6. Chapter 5

Author's Note: I'm back! So, I accidentally wrote the "Author's Note" for Chapter 6 before Chapter 5 (this chapter), so if you're actually interested in anything I have to say just look on that one. Thanks for all your support, and leave a comment if you enjoyed it!

When I finally stirred I found myself in a small prison cell, chained by the wrists and ankles. My blade had been taken from me, as well as the few bottles of tranquilizer fluid. The Shinigami robes had been heavily torn, and I had a cut that streaked across my cheek. The only light I could make out was a torch in the distance, but the chains had restricted me from getting anywhere close to the bars so I couldn't ascertain the light source.

I laid there for what felt like hours, even days. Eventually, I heard I loud explosion come from my right hand side that rattled the chains that confined me, and the light source flickered to nothingness. I thought I heard the sounds of guards rushing to the scene, but it wasn't long before another loud explosion erupted, this time from behind me, easily ripping the chain into bits and pieces.

Unfortunately, the power of the explosion slammed me against the bars and I slammed my face straight into them. Not that I really should have been complaining. The bars shattered on contact after the explosion had loosened them up. From my new vantage point, I could make out what was going on. A squad of three or four guards was advancing towards me, the first with a lantern. Just a few paces from reaching my cell, the first guard was suddenly struck hard by what must have been the prisoner that resided in the cell to my right.

The lantern flipped out of his hand and smashed against the wall, the light spluttering to darkness. I heard several other grunts of pain before the light was again restored, casting ghostly shadows on the wall due to the shattered glass. The figure holding the lantern rapidly approached my cell, and I positioned myself to fight until I realized who it was.

"Mitsuwa? Is that you?" I called out. Nothing but silence followed. The figure just continued to advance towards my cell, kicking the metal bars aside upon reaching the entrance. From there I could make out his face. "Mitsuwa, it is you!" I exclaimed loudly, throwing my arms around him.

"Of course it is, you idiot. Who else would specifically save you? Now keep it down!" He shushed me, taking a seat in my cell. In such close proximity, I noticed that he looked as badly beaten as I was. "Alright, I've thought of a way to get out of here, but first, you look rather clueless on what happened."

"You'd be right about that. I woke up just a few hours ago here." I gestured towards the cell that we were currently chatting in.

"We ended up landing on a small landing ledge that the people of the 18th District of West Rukongai used to climb above ground. I was barely conscious, and they knocked me out the moment they found us. I'm guessing that ever since their district was destroyed by the Shinigami we saw back in our district, they moved underground. Since we're dressed like those Shinigami, we got a one-way ticket to the prison here. We're going to have to break out." Mitsuwa explained.

"Alright, but how're we going to do that?" I said, absentmindedly twiddling my thumbs. It felt as if any moment the guards could come and imprison us yet again.

"You're worrying about the wrong thing. Their loose prison is rather lacking in manpower, and makes up for it in superior prison structure, almost a quarter mile underground. Since we're already out, we're safe. What I'm concerned about is what we're going to do once we get out." He replied, and from what I could make out of his face he appeared to be quite worried.

"I don't see what the problem is." I sighed, letting my head fall against the wall. The stone was cold and the sides of the walls were still rough, the particular prison cell experiencing little use.

"You don't understand. Even though we're imprisoned, we're safe in here. I don't know what's going on, but I can tell you one thing for sure: we're easy targets in a wasteland of a District. At this point, our District is probably a wasteland as well." Mitsuwa slammed his hand against the wall, making a dull sound. He looked to be crying, and with good reason. His home, our home, was gone. It was nothing.

"Look," I smiled despite the tears welling up in my eyes, "If our homes our gone there's nothing to do but push forward. We're going to do everything just like we have, and we'll make it. I promise."

Mitsuwa looked like he was about to say something, but his mouth opened and no sound came out. A sole tear ran down the side of his cheek, but something of a smile broke out on his face. His fist fell loose and dropped from the wall landing in his lap. "Let's go."


	7. Chapter 6

Author's Note: It's been awhile since I last uploaded, well, anything, but I can assure you that I'm not dead right now. Anyways, life has been very busy and I'm sure it is for anyone who reads this (and still reads this). Since I'm here, I'd like to thank you for reading this so far and showing lots of support. Please enjoy this chapter! Comment if you enjoyed!

Mitsuwa was leading the way with his lantern as we sprinted down the hallways of the prison, seemingly like a never-ending maze. Our footsteps resounded like church bells on Christmas morning, but no guards came to stop us. After retracing our path for the umpteenth time, we finally made it to the exit where we found the entrance guards dead.

"Wait, Sora, hold on!" Mitsuwa yelled as he came to a skidding halt just as I began to make out the light of day. I nearly slammed into him I was running so fast.

"What could it – whoa." I stared. What I assumed to be the former entrance guards were all dead, about five or six in total. Their bodies were scattered around the door, each looking as if they could have just as easily fallen asleep on a peaceful night.

"The Shinigami. They must've invaded." Mitsuwa pieced together, just moments before he turned and tackled me to the ground, only a few paces away from the door. The lantern clanged against the ground and flickered to darkness.

"What was that for?" I protested, but he easily pinned me down and covered my mouth. I tried to grapple him into a roll until I noticed the Shinigami coming from the opposite hallway.

"They're quite the resilient bunch!" The taller of the two chuckled. He looked to be more of a skinny build, but from what I could tell his arms were quite long, which would probably give him an advantage in a swordfight. A lantern was attached to his belt beneath his cloak, lighting the way for the two of them.

"I just can't believe they made it this long without us noticing! We're almost as arrogant as the 13 Court Guard Squads!" The shorter one said, and the tall one laughed at his joke. I'd say the shorter one looked like an overgrown pumpkin, a round figure with short arms and legs. He had a lantern too, although his wasn't lit.

"Wait, the 13 Court Guard Squads?" I whispered to Mitsuwa, but he shut me up real quick with a punch straight to the stomach. I yelped in pain, alarming the two Shinigami.

"Who's there?" The shorter one yelled, brandishing his sword. The taller one followed suite, their eyes trying to decipher the darkness that met them on all sides at the edge of the lantern's glow.

Mitsuwa, quickly getting up onto his feet, sprinted at them and smashed our broken lantern on the tall one's head, who fell backwards in shock, his own lantern hitting the ground, although his miraculously stayed lit. While the stubby one fumbled on the ground for the lantern the tall one was clumsily getting to his feet, although Mitsuwa was keeping him down with a volley of punches. By the time he got up, his hair was covered in a deep crimson tide of his own blood.

The tall one, enraged, took several swipes at Mitsuwa with his sword, considerably spacing the two foes. Meanwhile, the short one had regained the lantern and rose to his feet as well. I darted towards the battle scene as now both Shinigami were taking shots at Mitsuwa's neck. At such close proximity I could make out the two Shinigami's profiles more clearly. The tall one had crisp, blonde hair while the short had messy, brown hair, and the tall one had more of a long face whereas the short one had a rounder one.

"Sora, get the lantern!" Mitsuwa yelled to me just as I made it into the lantern's spectrum of light, surprising the two Shinigami yet again. I tackled the short one and Mitsuwa followed shortly after, taking him to the ground. This time, the lantern shattered to pieces on impact and the flame hit the ground and exploded violently. In the ensuing struggle, I had managed to get a hold of the shorter one's blade, and Mitsuwa had taken the tall on to the ground. I could hear the clanging of sword against stone, and the lantern had been relit.

I leapt off the short one and surveyed the surrounding area. Mitsuwa had his hand on the tall one's blade, covered in the blood of its former owner. The taller one lay dead on the ground, a single strike to the chest having done him in. The short one was slowly inching backwards away from me, his blade now in my possession. Mitsuwa, however, had other plans.

He lunged for the Shinigami and slammed him to the ground with a cut that went from his shoulder to his right chest area. The Shinigami stumbled to his feet again, coughing up blood.

"Where are you from?" Mitsuwa forcefully pushed the Shinigami to the ground again. "Tell me or I'll kill you!" He swung the blade through the air.

"Then kill me, boy! Show me your courage! A thousand curses on the weak-hearted!" The Shinigami laughed mockingly, his wound dripping blood ever still.

"You think I jest? Then that will be your downfall, and a most painful death will be fitting for someone like you!" Mitsuwa snapped back, angrily striking the Shinigami across the knee. He flinched slightly, although he seemed unfazed.

"My death is meaningless in every sense of the word, boy. I can only be useful to you alive as an information source and I am only of use to myself alive so that I may fight. You have nothing to gain from killing me, and in that my life is secure." The Shinigami continued to taunt Mitsuwa.

"Watch me!" Mitsuwa roared, stabbing his blade straight through the Shinigami's stomach. He almost smiled, before his eyes contorted in pain. Mitsuwa continued layering on volley after volley of forceful punches, until it appeared his victim could take no more. At that moment, Mitsuwa reclaimed his blade and slammed the half-dead figure to the ground.

"Not…not half bad…" The Shinigami mumbled softly, blood dripping from the side of his mouth. His mouth opened again, but nothing came out. Mitsuwa was sitting on the ground next to him, and the blade the Shinigami had used lying dejected on the ground. His adrenaline rush had subsided, and his hands, covered in blood, were lying on the ground.

"Shinigami," I said since Mitsuwa had stopped talking, "Talk! Where did you come from, and where are the rest of the Shinigami?" I raised his former blade to intimidate him, but it was futile.

"Boy…I took your…torture…leave me!" He cried out, clambering to his feet, but he quickly collapsed. I caught just a quick glimpse of his auburn eyes roll backwards in his head as he died, slamming against the ground. Mitsuwa grabbed his carcass and through it on top of the tall one's body, their blood staining the dull gray color of the stone that composed the prison.

"Sora, let's get out of here before any other ones show up!" Mitsuwa barked at me, grabbing my sleeve and hurrying out of the unguarded door.


End file.
